The Inn
by Michelle Gilman
Summary: Aang and Katara are forced to share a room at an Inn. “It’s just that…” he paused, thinking, before he started again, more hesitantly, “there’s this girl...” Kataang. oneshot.


A/N: I dunno what to say really…

A/N: I dunno what to say really…..so….just read and enjoy! Oh, and reviews would be VERY much appreciated…

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The Inn

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Katara's eyes fluttered open to see that they were still riding on Appa. She groaned quietly. She'd hoped that they had already landed and that someone had carried her to a nice soft bed, but they hadn't. She looked around at the others.

Sokka was snoring loudly and had a dreamy look on his face. She tried not to laugh and snicker at the sight of his arms snugly around Toph's small frame. Ever since the two had confessed (and she'd spied of course), she couldn't help but think how cute they were together, even if their "secret" relationship was only a secret to Aang. She heard him mutter something and could've sworn she heard Toph's name, but just laughed quietly to herself and looked in front of her.

There sat Aang.

She had fallen so in love with him that she could feel her heart swell at the sight of him and wished she and Aang could be like them. Whenever she looked at them, she knew that she had hearts in her eyes, but she couldn't help him. Those suave tattoos, those amazing muscles, and that goofy grin. Her heart was beating fast just thinking about him.

She climbed out of the oversized saddle and made her way cautiously to where Aang sat.

She quickly realized, however, that the spot was narrower than it looked and she sat behind him, trying to keep the blush on her cheeks from showing as she was pressed against his back.

A gasp sounded from Aang and he jerked Appa left involuntarily when he looked back in surprise. Much to her delight, it hadn't woken the two sleeping secret lovers behind them.

The jerk made her grab Aang around the waist to keep from falling, and the blush she'd been suppressing earlier made it's way to her cheeks.

"K-Katara?" she heard him stutter. "What're you doing?"

What was she doing? She didn't really know why she'd come here in the first place, so she just decided to wing it. "I woke up and saw you sitting up here. I didn't know it was so narrow, so I had to sit behind you," she said, hoping she didn't sound weird.

She didn't see the smile and blush that found it's way to Aang's face. "Oh," he said as calmly as he could.

Katara, however, could tell that he was nervous and it made her a little on edge too.

After a few moments of silence, and Aang trying not to give in to his "teenage" self, she heard him gasp in delight. "Look! An inn!" he exclaimed, using one hand to point towards the ground.

Katara looked over his shoulder and saw it too. "Yes! Warm beds!" she said.

Aang suddenly made a motion and Appa went hurling downwards.

Surprised, Katara squeezed his torso tight and buried her face into the crook of his neck for security.

Aang, however, was trying to survive the attack of her feminine charms.

When they landed, they decided not to awake Sokka and Toph and instead, Katara lifted them down to Aang, who set them on the ground.

He offered a hand to help Katara down and she smiled, gracefully accepting it. She jumped down, knowing he would catch her, and was shocked at what happened.

She fell into his arms, just like she thought, but as soon as his hands were around her waist, he lost his footing and they fell.

His face was mere centimeters away from her and she could feel his breath on her lips. Both of their eyes were wide, but were locked in a gaze that gave Katara tingles down her spine. She didn't want to move, but the blushes on their cheeks were growing brighter by the minute.

"S-S-Sorry Katara!" Aang stuttered, blushing harder (if that was possible) and sitting up.

This turned out to be an even more compromising position. Katata was sitting on his lap, facing him.

It only took a moment for them to back away, both looking at the ground, blushing furiously, and apologizing like mad.

"Let's just get into the inn," Katara suggested.

They each picked up a sleeping bag that was home to either an earthbender to a "boomerang guy" and walked in, finding the innkeeper with a happy smile beaming at them.

"There are four of you?" he asked.

Aang nodded.

"I only have two rooms, I'm afraid," he said.

"That's okay, we can share," Katara offered.

The man beamed at them again and nodded, taking the gold pieces. "Alright, this way."

He led them to two rooms and told them to go in, leaving them with a simple, "Enjoy!" He also added that he'd take Aang's bison to the barn.

Katara didn't realize it was so stupid to say, until she said it. "We should let Toph and Sokka have their own room," she suggested.

"Okay," he agreed, clearly not realizing what it meant.

They laid the two in the bed, and sighed. "Well, let's go get some sleep," Aang suggested.

After they locked the door to Sokka and Toph's room, they realized what they'd done.

"Wait…"

"That means…"

"We have to share a room," Aang said, his eyes were wide as he stared at Katara.

They walked to the room, opening the door and seeing the small room that had one bed in it. "Well," Katara said quietly, trying to find a way to make it less awkward. "We're best friends…so…just uh…think of it as a sleepover." She'd failed.

"Uh…yeah. Okay," Aang said. She could tell he was nervous and sounded a little scared.

Katara pulled off her dress, so that she was only in her bindings and undergarments and quickly pulled it back on. Aang may have seen her like that before, but he wasn't sleeping next to her. "Um…I'm cold, so I'm going to sleep in my dress tonight," she announced, kicking off her boots. She turned around to face Aang and saw his shirt was already off.

"Okay," he said with a shrug. He was calm. Too calm. She could tell something was wrong with him.

"Aang, something's wrong."

"No, I'm just tired," he said, waving it off.

"Don't lie," she warned, glaring at him.

He looked at the floor. "Fine, something's bugging me. But don't worry about it. It's something that I've been thinking about for a while anyways."

She almost felt offended that he'd been keeping something from her. "What is it?"

"Nothing," he lied.

"Aang…" her voice was low, threatening.

"It's nothing, Katara!"

"Just tell me!"

"No!" he exclaimed. "Just…" his voice got softer, "Just forget about it."

"I can't now that you said something," she replied. Why was this such a big deal? She'd prided herself on knowing him best, and was angry that now, there was something she didn't know.

"It's just that…" he paused, thinking, before he started again, more hesitantly, "there's this girl. She's so pretty, and smart, and collected, and….wonderful. But she never notices me. I've tried to tell her how I feel so many times, but she always gets distracted, or doesn't hear me. I even tried kissing her…twice! I'm trying to decide whether I should keep trying. I mean, I don't even know if she likes me." The entire time he spoke, his face had slowly gotten redder and redder.

'_So he doesn't like me…_' Katara thought sadly. '_I wonder who it is though…_' She gulped. "Who is she?"

"I-I don't know if I should say," he said quietly. "It would ruin our friendship…"

Katara's breath caught in her throat when she noticed his slip up. "_Our_ friendship?"

Aang's eyes widened. "I…I…I mean…" he closed his eyes and took a breath before looking back up and straight into her eyes. "Yeah," he said slowly. "Katara, I love you."

She was shocked. No, beyond shocked. "Aang?" she asked. It was all she could manage. "W-what are you…?"

"I've loved you since you first pulled me out of the iceberg!" he exclaimed suddenly. "I heard when Aunt Wu told you that you would marry a powerful bender and I remember I got so excited that I wanted to do back flips! When you suggested we kiss in the Cave of Lovers, I wanted to so badly…and on the day of the invasion…I kissed you because I was trying to say that I love you."

She sat there, staring at him. Her mouth was open slightly, she had stopped moving, trying to take it all in, and her eyes were wide. "Aang, is this true?" she asked.

"I would never lie to you," he affirmed, his voice firm.

A smile burst through her shocked façade. "Well, then I suppose I should tell you what I feel," she replied.

Aang didn't say a word. He just looked at her with eyes full of hope and fear of rejection.

"I love you as a best friend, as a brother…" she paused, and saw his face fall, but she wasn't done. "And most importantly, as a lover."

His face immediately turned into the most excited, happy, and joyful face she'd ever seen. He walked up to her and stood about an arms length away from her. "Katara?"

"Yes Aang?"

His smile was now small, secretive, and courageous. "Can I kiss you?" he asked shyly.

"You don't have to ask silly," she replied, her eyes sliding shut.

It came quickly than she expected. Before she was ready, his lips were on hers and one of his arms were around her waist, while the other was behind her head, his fingers tangled in her hair and messing up her braid, not that she cared. He pulled her closer and she blushed. Who'd of thought that this shy, goofy airbender would have such experience and guts?

Finally, they broke for air, and Aang put his forehead to hers. "You don't know how long I've waited to do that," he whispered.

He pulled her close again, and stopped a hairs breath away from her lips.

Her eyes closed, expecting another kiss, but instead she heard him say, "I think we should get some sleep."

She opened her beautiful azure eyes as his arms were sliding out from her waist and the back of her neck and he was getting under the covers. A pout found her way onto her face as she followed suit, her back facing him in a silent protest against him teasing her.

Suddenly, two arms snaked around his waist and pulled her close to him, his chest pressing against her back and his head resting perfectly in the crook of her neck. "A-Aang?" she asked unsurely, not sure of what he was trying to do. Although, she couldn't help but think about how perfectly they fit against each other.

"Shhh," he whispered. "Remember, we need to sleep." He was teasing her again.

She turned around to tell him off. Big mistake. She was now pressed against him so close, that their noses were touching. She then realized he'd planned that. She hated how she he knew her so well.

A devilish smile was on his features. It was the last thing she saw before he pressed his lips to hers again, and it didn't take long for her to follow his example.

She didn't remember when they broke apart, or when she fell asleep. All she remembered was the feeling of never wanting to let him go and wanting to be by his side forever.

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A/N: so, how was it? Please review and tell me!


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